Creating an OER Roadmap

Use of open content or learning materials on a college campus represents a daunting paradigm shift for both faculty and the institution (see Open Educational Resources: Toward a New Educational Paradigm). Orchestrating such a shift requires a coordinated and system-wide effort that marshals the expertise, resources, and skills from a broad spectrum of the campus community.

Step One: Needs Assessment

Conduct a needs assessment of stakeholders to determine knowledge of, interest in, and use of OER on campus. In order to promote use of OER across campus, the unique challenges on campus must be identified and addressed.

Review of campus curriculum and syllabi for textbook requirements (e.g., Pedagogical approaches that rely heavily on proprietary textbooks for course content organization and dissemination are not consistent with adoption of OER.)

Step Two: Answer Strategic Questions

What are the goals and timeline of the initiative e.g. affordability, faculty innovation, educational leadership?